Carn Ban is a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

chambered tomb located on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

().

Description

Carn Ban is situated in the southern part of Arran, and a walk of is required to reach the site.Carn Ban
Historic Scotland, accessed 2 May 2014 It is on a steep south-west facing slope in a forest clearing partly covered in grass. It is considered as one of the most famous of the Neolithic long cairns of south-west Scotland. It is of a type found across south-west Scotland known as a Clyde cairn. It is trapezoidal in shape, with a semicircular forecourt at the upper northeast end. The forecourt has an entrance leading into a long chamber divided into compartments by cross-slabs, similar to the arrangement at

Torrylin Cairn Torrylin Cairn is the remains of a Neolithic chambered tomb. It is located near Kilmory on the Isle of Arran in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great B ...

, about to the southwest. The chamber of Carn Ban is 30 metres long and 18 metres broad. The tomb was excavated in the late 19th century, but the only finds were a flint flake, an unburnt fragment of human bone, and a

pitchstone Pitchstone is a dark coloured, glassy volcanic rock formed when felsic lava or magma cools quickly. Since it is a volcanic glass, pitchstone may have a conchoidal fracture. Pitchstones may also contain phenocrysts, in which case it is a form of v ...

flake. The site has been designated a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

References

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External links

*Historic Environment Scotland
Visitor guide
Archaeological sites in North Ayrshire Historic Scotland properties in North Ayrshire Scheduled Ancient Monuments in North Ayrshire Isle of Arran